EHN 2022AnnualReport 9DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 12
Annual Wellness Visits
An important tool for managing chronic conditions
Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) are a crucial part of performing well on our
Medicare contracts. More than that, they are an important tool to help
manage the health of our community members who have chronic conditions.
AWVs have a big impact
Overlake Medical Center & Clinics has been a strong
performer in AWVs. In 2022, EvergreenHealth
transformed their work on AWVs in a remarkable
way. We’d like to highlight that transformation.
When patients are seen in the clinic, the team at
EvergreenHealth is finding that Annual Wellness
Visits are having a huge impact on provider ability
to close overall care gaps with a patient. Komal
Patil-Sisodia, MD, Endocrinology, EvergreenHealth,
shares that EvergreenHealth patients under
UnitedHealth who were not seen for the AWV had
an overall STAR rating of 3.67, but patients who
were seen for an AWV had an overall star rating
10
of 4.67. “It’s a hard ask to get everyone aligned
when we’re down staff, but the Annual Wellness
Visits are having a big impact,” she says.
Historically, EvergreenHealth has tried many
strategies for reaching out to patients. But one
strategy has proven most effective. EvergreenHealth
Medical Group Quality Manager Arkady DeRoest
explains, “We find that the patients are really
attached to their providers.” One innovation from
2022 is that EvergreenHealth moved outreach
through clinics. Evergreen Marketing also massaged
the messaging and began saying “We’ve reserved
a spot for you.” This inviting language seemed to
have an impact in how responsive patients were to
scheduling requests.
EASTSIDE HEALTH NETWORK